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Founding Matriarch, Cauli, loses battle with pneumonia
March 5, 2009
by Wayne S. Geiger
Cauli, when she first came to the Sanctuary in 1998.
Cauli looking fit in September 2008.
It all began in 1998, when I worked as Animal Welfare Director for the Humane Society of the Willamette Valley, HSWV, (aka – Willamette Humane Society) as Animal Welfare Director. As part of my duties, I oversaw the Cruelty Department, which, at that time, was very involved in reports of cruelty and neglect. Shortly after I started, one of my first cases was a starvation case involving 4 young sheep in south Salem. The sheep were surrender to us, but like most Humane Societies, we were not equipped to house them. In the past, smaller livestock would be put into dog kennels until a new home could be found. I found this unacceptable and went in search of another option.
I was renting a great old farm style house on 3 acres with an old run down barn, but most of it was not fenced. So, during my lunch break, I ran to the local farm store bought some fencing and some “t” posts (and of course, some feed) and quickly made a small pasture for them. Under some new TLC and nutrition, they were fast on the road to recovery.
The next thing I new, this little unofficial sanctuary was rapidly growing. Soon, came Monty the goat, some chickens and a little donkey named Bart. It just didn’t seem to end, as there was always a need for unwanted, abused and neglected farm animals and not many places for them to go.
After all of these years of good health, Cauli came down with pneumonia. At first she responded splendidly to a regime of antibiotic and Vit B injections. To the point, we thought she was cured. Unfortunately, she relapsed and had past away sometime during the night. It is estimated that she was 12 years old.
I will be forever grateful for the original 4 sheep (Broccoli, Cauli, Flower and Kale) for starting this wonderful and exciting journey, now, officially called the Lighthouse Farm Sanctuary. We may miss her, but carry on for others like her.
